About the Production

Inspiration

In the June, 1995 Videomaker
Magazine, executive editor Stephan Muratore published
a challenge to all of us who used our camcorders for only half an hour
a month: hook up with other video enthusiasts and produce a work for
a "doer's group." Quoting from the article:

"Video is other people" means reaching beyond one's two
hands and one family. In this connection, video user's groups seem a
good idea when they actually shoot and edit together. But user's groups
swell with behind-the-camera types. What about the people for whom the
lens cries out? Imagine User's Group Meets High School Drama Club,
User's Group Meets Local Basketball Team, User's Group Meets Gallery
Owner... That's the idea: User's Groups Meet Doers Groups.

Original Concept

In February of 1996, a group of Dallas, Texas area video enthusiasts
began meeting with a goal of producing a tape for a non-profit
organization. In July, a group member asked the Collin County Women's
Shelter, now called Hope's Door, to consider a joint project. By
September we all agreed to go forward with a project, although the
actual subject matter was still up in the air.

In January of 1997, the video group presented two treatments to Hope's
Door: one was a remake of an existing video, with an emphasis on
improving production values as well as incorporating new programs, such
as the Batterer's Intervention Program (BIP). The other treatment,
however, proposed a dramatization of a domestic abuse case. Hope's
Door reviewed both treatments and decided to base the production on the
latter. This was a radical change to the original concept for the
video.

Treatment and Script

During the first half of 1997, Hope's Door took this original concept
and developed the treatment for A Journey of Hope with the
video group providing feedback. Once this work was finished, a video
group member wrote the first script draft which was finished in
August.

Hope's Door performed a thourough review of the script,
specifically to check for clinical accuracy. A key interest was
developing the BIP scene to accurately reflect statistically typical
domestic abuser behavior. The script went through multiple revisions,
and the third draft was finished in April of 1998. By this time the
video group had dissolved, but several members remained committed to
this project.

Casting, Production, and Editing

Casting was completed in June of 1998 with assistance from the Collin
County Community College District's (CCCCD) theatre arts program. A
final revision of the script was completed in July. Shooting on
location at Hope's Door's administrative offices and abuse shelter was
finished by the end of the month.

Editing proved to be problematic. We had originally planned to use
low end personal computer based editing equipment. Although the
software proved capable of digitizing video and developing an
editing decision list, the hardware was unable to perform machine
control without dropping scenes during assemble editing. In October,
we started looking for editing assistance.

In January of 1999 we obtained a tentative agreement from an editing
studio to complete the production on a pro-bono basis during down time.
But the studio won several contracts and became over booked. About six
months later the CCCCD television programming department agreed to
provide editing studio time. We published the production in October
and registered for a copyright in January of 2000.